There's lots of finger-pointing amid the Flint water crisis

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photo of a "Water Pickup" sign points to a bottled water
distribution center for Flint residents at a fire station in
FlintThomson
Reuters

FLINT, Mich. (AP) — Michigan environmental regulators made
crucial errors as Flint began using a new drinking water source
that would become contaminated with lead, auditors said Friday,
as crews in the city started to dig up old pipes connecting water
mains to homes.

The report by the state auditor general found that staffers in
the Department of Environmental Quality's drinking water office
failed to order the city to treat its water with anti-corrosion
chemicals as it switched to the Flint River in April 2014, but
also said the rules they failed to heed may not be strong enough
to protect the public.

Flint had been using water from the Detroit system but made the
change to save money, planning eventually to join a consortium
that would have its own pipeline to the lake.

The corrosive river water scraped lead from aging pipes that
tainted water in some homes and schools, and has been blamed for
elevated lead levels in some children's bloodstreams. If
consumed, lead can cause developmental delays and learning
disabilities.

Crews on Friday dug up a lead service line in Flint and replaced
it with a copper one at the home of an expectant couple. It
marked the first residential lead pipe removal that is part of
Mayor Karen Weaver's Fast Start initiative designed to replace
all lead service lines in the city.

Barry Richardson II, who lives in the home with his pregnant
fiancee, thanked mayor and said he no longer will "have to worry
about the lead poisoning" his water.

Weaver said the work that started Friday will target lead service
lines at homes in neighborhoods with the highest number of
children under 6 years old, senior citizens, pregnant women,
people with compromised immune systems and homes where water
tests indicate high levels of lead at the tap.

Sarah
Rice/Getty

More than two dozen Democrats, including House Minority Leader
Nancy Pelosi, also visited Flint on Friday to hear from families
affected by the water crisis.

Democratic Rep. Dan Kildee of Michigan said it let lawmakers hear
about Flint's problems firsthand and kept up pressure for
Congress to act on a stalled bill aimed at helping the city.

Kildee criticized Senate Republicans for delaying the bill and
noted that lawmakers who have visited Flint in recent weeks were
all Democrats.

Republican Gov. Rick Snyder, who has repeatedly apologized for
the state's response, said it's taking longer than expected to
locate all the lead pipes in the city but the state is working to
find them.

The DEQ has acknowledged that its staffers who worked with Flint
misread federal regulations designed to prevent lead and copper
pollution of drinking water supplies. Three DEQ employees,
including the director, have lost their jobs.

Flint
residents Gladyes Williamson (C) holds a bottle full of
contaminated water, and a clump of her hair, alongside Jessica
Owens (R), holding a baby bottle full of contaminated water,
during a news conference after attending a House Oversight and
Government Reform Committee hearing on the Flint, Michigan water
crisis.Getty Images/Mark
Wilson

Director Keith Creagh said Friday the DEQ appreciates the auditor
general's "thorough review" and "is committed to developing and
implementing process and program improvements to address the
findings in the report."

But the DEQ said the federal Lead and Copper Rule was ambiguous,
and the auditors agreed, saying it and Michigan's Safe Water
Drinking Act needed improvements.

Snyder said he'd also like to set a higher water quality standard
than the federal rule.

The audit said the federal rule does not require using indicators
such as blood screenings to monitor for human exposure to lead.
Sampling of drinking water that does take place relies mostly on
samples from single-family residences, leaving out other
locations such as schools and hospitals.

Additionally, many samples are taken by residents, who might use
incorrect procedures, the report said.

Other DEQ shortcomings it noted included a failure to ensure that
Flint drew enough water samples for testing from high-risk homes
with lead pipes or fixtures. The agency said it would "put in
place appropriate audit procedures that will increase the
confidence and accuracy of water supply submissions."

DEQ also does not conduct surveillance visits, sanitary surveys
and other monitoring within required time frames, a problem in
places other than Flint, the report said. The department said 95
percent of sanitary surveys and 64 percent of surveillance visits
meet required deadlines, exceeding goals set by the U.S.
Environmental Protection Agency.